The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1887-08-25


community when the great denominations
of Christians are about equal in power,
marching side by side for the worlds con-
quest Mere outside prosperity, mere
worldly power, is no evidence that the
church is acceptable to God. Better q
barn with Christ in the manger than q
cathedral with magnificent harmonies roll
ing through the long drawn aisles and an
angel from Heaven in the pulpit, if there
be no Christ in the chancel and no Christ
in the robes. Bigotry is often the child Of
ignorance.
You seldom find man with large INTEL
lect who is a bigot. 1t is the man who
thinks he knows great deal but does not.
That man is almost always a bigot. The
whole tendency of education and civiliza-
ton is to bring a man out of that kind of
state of mind and heart. There was in the
far East great obelisk, and one side of
the obelisk was white, another side of the
obelisk was green, another side of the
obelisk was blue, and travellers went and
looked at that obelisk, but they did not
walk around it. One man looked at one
side. another at another side, and they
came home, each one looking at only one
side. And they happened to meet, the
story says, and they got into a rank quar-
rel about the color of that obelisk. One
man said it was white, another man said it
was green, another man said it was blue,
and when they were in the very heat of the
controversy more intelligent traveller
came and said: Gentlemen, ] have seen
that obelisk, and you are all right and you
are all wrong. Why didn't you walk all
around the obelisk?"
Look out for the man who sees only one
side of religious truth. Look out for the
man who never walks around about these
great theories of God and eternity and the
dead. He will be bigot inevitably-the
man who only sees one side. There is no
man more to be pitied than he who has in
his head Just one idea-no more, no less.
More light, less sectarianism. There is
nothing that will so soon kill bigotry as
sunshine - Gods sunshine.
II. SO / have set before You what / con-
slider TO be the cause of bicotry. l have
set before you the origin of this great evil.
What are some of the baleful effects? First
of all it cripples investigation. You are
wrong, and | am right, and that ends it.
No taste for exploration, no spirit of inves-
tigation. From the glorious realm of Gods
truth, over which an archangel might fly
from eternity 10 eternity and not reach the
limit, the man shuts himself out and dies.
blind mole under corn shock. 1t stops
all investigation.
While each denomination of Christians
is to present all the truths of the Bible, it
seems to me that God has given to each
denomination an especial mission TO give
particular emphasis to some one doctrine;
and so the Calvinistic churches must pre-
sent the sovereignty of God, and the
Arminian churches must present man S
free agency, and the Episcopal churches
must present the importance of order and
solemn ceremony, and the Baptist churches
must present the necessity of ordinances,
and the Congregational Church must pre-
sent the responsibility of the individual
member, and the Methodist Church must
show what holy enthusiasm, hearty con-
gregational singing can accomplish. While
each denomination of Christians must set
forth all the doctrines of the Bible, | feel
it is especially incumbent upon each de-
nomination to put particular emphasis upon
come one doctrine.
Another great damage done by the secta-
rianism and bigotry of the church is that
it disgu,ts people with the Christian re-
Hgion. Now, my friends, the Church of
God was never intended for war barrack.
People are afraid of riot. You go down
missiles flying through the air, and you
hear the shock of freasms. Do you, the
peaceful and industrious citizen, go
through that street? "Oh, mol" you will
say, IN go around the block" Now, men
come and look upon this narrow path to
Heaven, and sometimes see the ecclesiasti-
cal brickbats flying every whittier, and they
say, "Well, | guess I'll take the broad road;
if it is so rough, and there is so much
sharp shooting on the narrow road, | guess
I'll try the broad road"
Francis I. so hated the Lutherans that
he said if he thought there was one drop
of Lutheran blood in his veins he would
puncture them and let that drop out. Just
as long as there is so much hostility be-
tween denomination and denomination, or
between one professed Christian and an
other, Just so long men will be disgusted
with the hristian religion and say, "If
that is religion, ] want none of it.
Besides that, if You want to build up any
denomination, you will never build it up
by trying to pull some other down. Intol-
ernnce never put anything down. How
much has intolerance accomplished, for
instance against the Methodist Church?
For long Years her ministry was forbidden
the pulpits of Great Britain. Why was it
that so many of them preached in the
fields? Simply because they could not get
in the churches. And the name of the
church was given in dsrision 'and as a
sarcasm. The critics of the church said.
"They have no order, they have no method
in their Worship" and the critics, therefore,
in irony called them "Methodists."
am told that in Astor Library, New
York, kept as curiosities there are 70T
books and pamphlets against Methodism.
Did intolerance stop that church? No. it
is either first or second amid the denomin-
ations of Christendom, her missionary
stations in all parts of the world, her men
not only important in religious trusts, but
important also in secular trusts. Church
marching on, and the more intolerance
against it, the faster it marched.
What did intolerance accomplish against
the Baptist Church? If laughing scorn
and TRADE could have destroyed the church
it would not have to-day disciple left.
The Baptists were hurled out of Boston
in the olden times. Those who sympa-
thized with them were confined, and when q
petition was offered asking leniency in
their behalf all men who signed it we're
indicted. Has intolerance stopped the
Baptish Church? The last statistics in
regard to it showed about 30, 900 churches
and about 2,500,000 communicants. In
tolerance never put down anything.
In England a law was made against the
Jew. England thrust back the jew and
thrust down the jew, and declared that no
Jew should hold official position. What
came of it? We're the Jews destroyed?
Was their religion oyerthrown? No. Who
became Prime Minister of England years
ago2 Who was next to the throne? Who
was higher than the throne because he was
counselor and adviserp The descendant
Of Jew. What were we celebrating in all
our churches as we'll as synagogues few
years agop The one hundredth birthday
anniversary Of Montefiore, the great jew
ish philanthropist. Intolerance never yet
put down anything.